Farm & Food

​Did you get rain last week? Maybe yes, mostly no. The thunder showers that rolled through at the end of last week mostly landed in Montreal and points south along the Richelieu Valley - missing the Chateauguay Valley completely. Some locations got a couple of millimetres on Sunday, but not every one did. So, May is ending up pretty dry - so far only 21 mm instead of the normal 70 mm. That means we've only had 34 mm of precipitation since mid-April, or just 1.34" instead of the normal 4.5". However, the temperature has accumulated up to normal levels after a cool start to the month. The heat wave last week boosted the average temperature up to 13.2°C, which is pretty close to the normal average of 13.5°C. Heat units are also catching up, now sitting at 337 instead of the normal of 357. Of course, the corn is just beginning to peak out of the soil so the plants haven't been able to make much use of the recent heat. More rain is also needed to get the soybeans going as well.

Stay up to date on the latest agricultural news across the province, country and world with the Farm & Food Briefs. This week's issue talks about Quebec dairy farmers protesting at Parliament Hill, frozen & fresh raw ground beef to undergo radiation treatment, the challenge of regulating GMOs, and so much more! Click hereto read this week's issue.